Monday, February 20, 2012

My Routines Pt6 - Finding time for me {aka Crafty time}

That pretty much sums up how I feel. Craft time for me is very important. I need to have that outlet or I go mad. Seriously I do. If I haven't crafted at all in a week I get really antsy.

So I have structured my day so that I have that time. I am more productive home caring wise in the mornings. I found when Ethan was a baby that if I didn't do it in the mornings then it wasn't going to get done in the arvo. So I get as much home caring out of the way in the morning then I can have time to play. Both of my boys both had afternoon sleeps until recently. Eli still does, but Ethan has given them away most days. But he is happy to either lay in our bed and watch ABC2 or for me to set him up with pillow and rug on his flip out sofa in the family room and watch a dvd.I used to be able to scrap out in my scrap room {a sunroom separate from the house}. I would set the baby monitor up once they were asleep and I could shuffle papers safely. But now I bring it all into the dining room and scrap there so I can watch Ethan.

I also choose to scrapbook or make soap during the day and crochet {lovingly referred to as hooking} at night. That way I can sit next to Brian and watch tv, have a bit of small talk, or more serious talk if needed and hook away.

Many of you may be aware that I have a small hobby business hooking up doilies, trims, flowers and the like for paper crafters to use on their projects called Lime Tree Creations. I was finding that this crochet was taking up so much time that I didn't have time for any personal hooking. With myself promising a handmade christmas this year, a problem was posed.m So I decided to separate 'work' from leisure. I now only hook monday to thursday, then friday to sunday are personal hooking times. This has been fantastic for me. I have managed to complete so many projects and have rekindled my love of crochet which had started to fade withe the pressure of 'work' crochet.

So now that is sorted throw in my new addiction ~ soap making! I have only made three batches but am already addicted! I plan to give quite a few bars of soap away this year as christmas presents. Soap needs a curing time of around 6 weeks so at the moment I am making quite a bit. I have decided that I will soap on tuesdays and fridays, Until the end of October. Then they will have to cure until christmas. Once that is done I'll probable only soap once every week or two. We do go through quite a bit of soap, but I will have a fair bit stocked by then too.

So that's how I craft so much. I make it a priority. My well being is a priority. I cannot look after others unless I first look after myself. And I don't mean that in a selfish way.Me time for you might now mean crafting. It might mean exercising, reading a book, meditating, or anything else. Whatever you like to do.

If you want to find how you can carve out some time for yourself please print off a few of the Weekly Planners from The Organised Housewife. fill them in for a few weeks and see if a pattern occurs. Then see if you can find some regular time, even if it's only once or twice a week, for you to do something that will recharge your batteries.

Thank you for reading my My Routines posts. I hope it had given you some insight into how things work in my home and maybe even have inspired you to start or revisit your own routines. I'd love to hear from you if you have, or even if you have any questions. If your questions are of a personal nature contact me via my Lime Tree email address limetreecreations@yahoo.com.au or for those of you that know me know where to find my on Facebook.

About Me

Hi! I live in beautiful Port Elliot with my fiance Brian and three of our four gorgeous boys. Randall (18yo), Ethan (5yo), Eli (4yo).
I love to crochet, scrap, bake and strive for a simple homemade life.